Starting the year off right...my family room organization

Sure, it's easy to say that you've organized your space, right? But can you prove it? Maybe it just stays clean all the time. I wish.

Here's my scary before picture:

Since it's hard to know where to look, I'll tell you a bit about this room. This photo was taken in the midst of our Christmas tear-down (with Christmas long past). See the red candles on the left and the Advent calendar still hanging up on the wall at right?

Aside from the Christmas touches, this is pretty much what our family room looks like on most days. My daughter decorates it with toys, books and games. She does headstands on the couch, so there's no room for decorative cushions and all the pictures on the wall are crooked from her feet hitting them.

I am a magazine addict - I pile magazines on the table, on the floor and in an (overflowing) basket. There's a pile of towels that need to be folded on the right. And then there's Jolene the beagle mix. She's checking out that empty bowl on the table to see if there's any food in it.

Luckily, I decided to move the couch cushions during my cleaning spree. I found a library book on Helen Keller that my daughter took out for a class assignment. That would have been fun to look for when the due date approached. And I found this nice wad of gum stuck to a cushion.

Helpful as always, Jolene decided to clean up some crumbs when I left the room.

Here's the after photo. I went with simple decorative touches because I am looking for a period of calm after the storm.

A simple bowl on the table, filled with dollar store wooden balls. (I copied my sister after I saw the wooden balls at her house. Trust me, I have to say that, or she will be calling shortly.)

I threw a few things together on top of the bookshelf using a blue and green colour scheme to match the curtains. What do you think?

24 comments:

LOL the gum! Bet that was fun to clean :P I love that you've put the before shots in :) My family room today, let's see: Lego all over the floor, my son's library books and drawings scattered all over the floor, DVD cases everywhere, books all over the couch, a tipped over pencil caddy with pencils all over the floor, crumbs, dust bunnies hanging off the curtain rods... there will be just two of us home today and I'm planning a big clean. Hopefully...

So beyond gorgeous!!! I just love your taste {& those couch pillow are divine}. Okay, we have a beagle mix {Doc} & he is also a vacuum & he is 12x as big as your beautiful Jolene! We can not figure out how he is getting so fat-- we have had him on a diet for the past 2 years. Its terrifying. How do you keep your pup so trim??

Maybe Jolene is mixed with a skinny dog type. We're not sure. We give her the amount of food recommended and no table scraps, except for the things she steals. That can be significant on her lucky days or when we have company. She stills from visiting children especially.

This post made me laugh all the way through. The 'before' shot is hilarious with the poor dog looking like he's standing in the only clear spot ... and your explanation of your daughter's head stands and crooked pictures (I guess the gum fell out when she was upside down?!) ... right down to your prediction of your sister's reaction to your outright COPYING her!! ... REAL life!! Love it :) And I'm right there with you!! The after shot is amazing ... you got the 'calm' you wanted, but the before photo is so much more fun :) Wendy

The room looks very tidy Jo! I had a very rare day off today and I should have been doing some organising too.... Along with magazines, my family room is overloaded with shoes, books and laptops/tablets at the moment :(K xxmelikeyalot.blogspot.com.au

Hi! I'm Joann, a Toronto, Canada freelance writer and mother of two kids and two beagle-mix rescue pups. Inspiration is all around us, but how often do we miss it as we speed through our days crossing things off our lists? Grab a cup of tea and join me in exploring the art in everyday life, including diy, decor, books and lots of easy-to-make, family-friendly vegan food.